


The River's Edge But Gay

by Flika



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cheerleaders, F/F, First Day of School, First Kiss, First Meetings, Seven Minutes In Heaven, Spin the Bottle, bi!veronica, gay processing, lesbian!betty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 03:18:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9473069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flika/pseuds/Flika
Summary: From the moment Betty meets Veronica, nothing will ever be the same. Gay rewrite of the Riverdale pilot.





	

From the moment Veronica stepped into Pop’s diner, Betty knew her life would never be the same. She could tell from the moment Archie’s eyes hit her that Betty could never compare to someone like that. 

The worst part was that Betty couldn’t even hate her for it. Veronica was too likable, too charismatic, too magnetic to hate. It wasn’t her fault she was drop dead gorgeous and had an easy confidence Betty could only envy. 

It was so infuriating, because Betty knew she could have had Archie at any point over the past couple of years. All-american looks, easy laugh, football star—Archie was pretty much the perfect boy and Betty knew she should have been desperate to date him long ago. But every time she tried to think about kissing him, something held her back. There was always something missing to the equation, some spark. Maybe she had just known him for too long and there was nothing exciting left about him.

But now, things were different. Betty had decided once and for all that Archie was  _ it _ , the best possible boy to date, and that she would be a fool not to take the chance. Not to mention that if her mom asked her one more time why she didn’t have a boyfriend yet she was going to scream.

And sure, he didn’t make her body light up like Kevin told her he should, but Betty knew that would come with time. 

Or it would have, if Veronica hadn’t ruined all her plans.

Of course, Betty couldn’t even have the luxury of avoiding Veronica. Month’s prior, she had signed up for Riverdale’s stupid peer mentorship program. And now, the principal himself had asked Betty to give Veronica a tour of the premises. Something about the way Veronica flipped her hair sent coils of anxiety into Betty’s stomach and made her heart beat a mile a minute. It was so unsettling she had even briefly considered declining to give the tour—but Betty wasn’t the type to say no to an authority figure. So now, here she was, stuck on the first day of school guiding Ms. Veronica Lodge past bland classroom after bland classroom. And Veronica hadn't even shown up on time, forcing Betty to compress her tour to fit between 11 am and noon.

Betty’s thoughts were interrupted by Kevin joining their conversation to explain the little there was to do in Riverdale. “And that’s pretty much it…” he trailed off.

Rushing to catch up as a good host, Betty hurriedly introduced the two, “Ronnie, this is Kevin. Veronica’s new here, Kevin is—”  
  
“—Gay, thank god. I thought I was surrounded by heteros.”

Wait, what?

“But with you two, I guess I’m not horribly outnumbered,” Veronica continued with a laugh.

_ Wait, what? _

Betty blushed at the insinuation, “Oh i’m not—”

But Veronica and Kevin had already linked arms and ran ahead, chattering about some over-the-summer drama.

“—Gay.”

Betty jogged to keep up with Kevin and Veronica as they walked outside to eat lunch, still confused as all hell and struggling to catch up in more ways than one.

Of course, Archie instantly sat down at their table and stole Veronica from conversation. Betty rolled her eyes with Kevin as Archie showed Veronica mixtape after mixtape, while she sat in seemingly rapt attention. Betty couldn't pretend to be half as interested in Archie’s latest hobby after years of knowing him, she honestly didn’t know how Ronnie did it.

“Of course, I’ll never be half as famous as The Pussycats,” Archie quipped.

“Josie and the Pussycats,” Betty cut in. “They’re this semi-famous band that goes to school here—”

“Please, I know who they are. Hell, I dated one of them,” Veronica scoffed. “I met Josie over the summer when she had a gig in New York. It was fun, but the comic con furry look gets old fast.”

Betty was at least glad she wasn’t the only one who was a bit shocked—she half wanted to snap at Archie to close his mouth. Kevin just looked amused, but she was pretty sure she could hear people already whispering at the next table.

Veronica laughed uncomfortably, “Have you guys seriously never met a bi person?”

Betty cleared her throat, “It's not exactly common in Riverdale. I mean besides Kevin and a few guys…”

“Oh...sorry for assuming about you earlier. Gaydar is an art, not a science,” Veronica joked, still trying to ease the awkward tension that had permeated the mood.

Now Betty  _ really _ wished Archie would close his damn mouth. Especially when behind Ronnie’s back he mouthed “you?” like the idea was beyond absurd.

“So, Archie’s thing is music, what other extracurriculars are cool at Riverdale?” Veronica asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Cheryl’s probably going to poach you for cheerleading,” Kevin piped up. “Betty and I actually tried out last year. They told me no male cheerleaders, and well Betty…”

“It was bad, okay?” Betty huffed. Why the hell was Kevin bringing this up? The last thing she wanted to do was relive bad freshman year memories in front of someone she was trying to impress.

Ronnie crinkled her eyebrows adorably, “Why was it bad? You’re a total smokeshow. Plus you’d look super cute in those little cheerleader skirts.”

Betty blushed and gritted her teeth, trying to avoid Kevin’s attempt at nonverbal communication through telepathic gay eye contact in her periphery.

Veronica apparently didn't pick up on her embarrassment, because she kept on pushing her, "No, seriously, you should try out. I'll even try out with you!"  
  
Betty opened her mouth to shoot down the idea, but somehow all that came out was, "I guess."

A few hours later, Betty stood in the gym surrounded by girls in short-shorts, gasping as Veronica and her ran through their hastily planned choreo. Betty honestly didn’t know why she had let Ronnie talk her into this. There was something about Veronica that made her want to take risks, but at the same time this was undeniably a truly awful idea. Cheryl hated her, and made no secret of it. True to form, even with a near perfect performance Cheryl looked thoroughly unimpressed.

“I was hoping for something...racier,” Cheryl snarked.

“Well, you haven’t seen our big finish yet!” Ronnie replied with a forced smile. 

Betty stared at Veronica, confused. They hadn’t planned anything else, it was past time to throw in the towel on her cheerleader dream.

“Don’t freak out—trust me,” Veronica whispered. Before Betty could process what Ronnie meant, she felt Veronica pulling her against her body. Oh.  _ Oh _ . 

_ Don’t freak out. _

But how was Betty supposed to not freak out when Veronica’s warm lips brushed teasingly across hers. All Betty did in her life was panic—about school, about her family, about Archie. How was she supposed to stay calm when it felt like her chest was slightly on fire and her lips were tingling with something she had never felt before. When Veronica was cupping her neck to pull her deeper into the cruelly slow kiss. Not to mention that Ronnie was a girl, and Betty didn’t date girls.

Veronica pulled away, leaving Betty panting and rapidly questioning her heterosexuality. 

“If I wanted a couple of lesbos on the squad, I’d recruit at Home Depot,” Cheryl scoffed. “But, we’re short on members, so you made it, Veronica. Betty, you’re still too fat, try out when you don’t look like a _ Suite Life of Zack and Cody  _ extra .”

Betty looked down at the ground, not wanting to let Cheryl see she was disappointed. She should have known better than to even bother trying out. 

“Listen, popped cherry. Betty and I come as a matching set. You may think you’ll always be on top, but it won’t last. There will be a reckoning, and maybe that reckoning is me. It’s either both of us or I make it my life’s mission to destroy you. And a person with as many secrets as you shouldn’t really be in the business of making enemies. Come on, Betty. Let's go," Veronica huffed, grabbing Betty by the wrist and dragging her out of the gym. 

Later, in the locker room, they sat together in silence as Ronnie brushed out her wavy black hair. Suddenly, it was like neither of them knew what to say and the easy conversation that had flowed earlier was lost.

“You didn’t have to defend me, you know,” Betty whispered.

Ronnie turned with a sad half-smile, “I know. But how Cheryl treated you—it was uncalled for. It was cruel. And it reminded me a lot of how I used to treat people.”

Betty looked down, still avoiding eye contact. And then, hesitantly, “Is that why you kissed me? Because you felt sorry for me?”

Veronica stared at Betty for a beat, dropping her brush and sitting down next to her. Betty refused to look at her, her eyes burning with the humiliation of not making the team once again.

Veronica tipped Betty’s chin up to look at her with the lightest touch, and for a moment Betty thought she was about to kiss her again. For a moment, Betty wanted Veronica to kiss her again. But Veronica just shook her head and smiled.

“No, I kissed you because I wanted to.”

The moment was interrupted by Cheryl swinging open the locker room door, and Veronica jumped back, as if caught. Cheryl paused, just long enough for Betty to get antsy again. Finally, Cheryl sighed and said the three words Betty least expected. “You made it.”

As Betty’s mind rapidly spun, Cheryl added, “Oh, and party at my house tonight. Don’t be late.” 

So, Betty and Veronica got dressed up and skipped prom to go Cheryl's latest and greatest party. It was the first time Betty had been to Cheryl's house since they were kids. There was something supremely creepy about the Blossom family home. She didn’t know if was the candle sticks or the taxidermied animals lining the walls but something was deeply wrong with the house—and the Blossoms in general. Betty shivered and leaned closer to Veronica, who smiled and gently squeezed her arm.

Cheryl clapped her hands together, “Ok, sluts. Time for some party games. First off, 7 minutes in heaven. First pair: Betty and Veronica.”

Betty sputtered in shock and Veronica quickly protested, “That’s not how the game works! You can’t just pick people yourself!”

“There’s no way I’m doing that,” Betty muttered.

Cheryl sighed, “Listen, fake lesbians, I’ll make it simple. 7 minutes in the closet or you're off the team. If you’re really too germaphobic to lock lips, you can just ask questions or something.”

Betty’s complaints tapered off—she couldn’t lose her shot at being a cheerleader. But she couldn’t force Veronica to do something like this, not  _ again _ . Plus, she had no idea how to feel about the prospect of kissing Veronica for a second time.

To Betty’s surprise, Veronica just rolled her eyes and stood up, grabbing Betty’s hand, “Fine, we’ll do it. But in the future you might want to find another way to work out your repressed sexual frustration. Come on, Betty.”

Betty quickly followed Veronica to the closet, equally as shocked as the ring of cheerleaders and football players left sitting on the floor, agape. Veronica pulled her into the first closet they passed, clicking the door shut behind them. Betty sighed and started a timer on her phone. 

“6 minutes, 50 seconds.”

Veronica didn’t respond, just stared at her as if evaluating her. Betty shifted uncomfortably.

“So…do you want to ask each other questions or something?” Betty asked.

Veronica smirked at Betty, suddenly stepping forward. Veronica placed two fingers on Betty’s shoulder, walking them up slowly and drawing a shiver out of Betty.

“I can think of better ways to pass the time.” 

Veronica leaned in slowly, wrapping her hands around Betty’s waist, pulling their bodies together. Betty gasped softly, her eyes flicking to Ronnie’s lips. She wasn’t surprised this time when their lips met, Veronica sinking a hand into her hair to control the pace of the kiss. Slow and sweet, Veronica’s lips softly and hesitantly brushed hers. The sensations of the kiss overwhelmed Betty, flooding her senses with taste of cherry, the warmth of Veronica’s body, and a softness that was all new to her. Betty reached down to cup Ronnie’s face, deepening the kiss. Betty barely suppressed a whimper as Ronnie pushed up into her, pressing their bodies impossibly close.

Betty struggled to keep up as Veronica’s tongue flicked across her lips. Suddenly faster, Veronica kissed her with a desperation that sent Betty’s heart into flutters. Veronica’s kisses become frantic, wet and messy as if they were running out of time. If their first kiss had shocked her, this one was blowing her mind. All of her constant anxiety and racing thoughts had flown out of Betty, and all that was left in this moment was Veronica. Betty realized this was the calmest she had felt in years, even as Veronica leaving her lips to nibbling on her earlobe brought out her breath in quick short pants.

Veronica pulled away, leaving them both gasping as the timer on Betty’s phone began to softly beep. “Wow,” Ronnie whispered.

Veronica had ruined all of her plans. And Betty’s life would never be the same.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this short rewrite of the Riverdale pilot: gay edition! Based on the pilot script draft, so apologies if there's some discrepancies between this and the actual pilot. Let me know if you have any suggestions or future writing prompts!
> 
> Follow me @lesbetty on tumblr.


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